Bowl Alliance Creates A Stir With National Championship Picture

With All The Conference Tie-ins And Contracts, It Will Take Until December To Decide The Bowl Matchups.

November 3, 1996|By Alan Schmadtke of The Sentinel Staff

ATLANTA — In the era of the 1980s, back-room deals and insider trading were not confined to Wall Street.

Michael Milken and the mythical Gordon Gekko weren't so far removed from the men who controlled college football's postseason bowls.

When November came, Friday night socials were where deals were cut and bowl bids were offered and handshakes were given. Informally, of course.

By Thanksgiving, matchups were set, and everybody prayed for no late-season upsets.

Not anymore. The bowl business of the '90s is laden with contractual tie-ins and out-clauses, but order rules the season. With the advancement of the Bowl Alliance and conference championship games, no deals are done until December.

The Southeastern Conference, Big 12 and Western Athletic Conference play title games on Dec. 7, and only then will players be determined for the national championship drama.

Until then, top-ranked Florida and No. 2 Ohio State will reap the bulk of the attention and speculation, even though they never may meet.

Northwestern's 34-9 loss to Penn State on Saturday wiped away any notion of ABC buying out the Rose Bowl and sending Ohio State to the Sugar Bowl. The Wildcats' loss leaves the Buckeyes as the only unbeaten team left in the Big Ten - and puts Northwestern squarely into the picture for the Florida Citrus Bowl.

If the alliance had to pick teams today, Nebraska would face the Nov. 30 Florida-Florida State winner in the Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta would take Tennessee and match the Vols against either the FSU-Florida loser, a second team from the Big 12 (Colorado) or Notre Dame.

And the Orange Bowl would match the Big East champion, likely the Miami-Syracuse winner, against another at-large pick, probably Notre Dame or North Carolina.

If FSU falls to Florida, the Seminoles almost certainly will exercise an option out of the Orange Bowl, making them a lock for the Fiesta.

Likewise, Fiesta officials are cool on the Gators, making them a likely Orange Bowl selection if they lose to FSU and still win the SEC title game.

Several games this week will have an impact on the bowl landscape. Chief among them are:

- Alabama at LSU. The latest key in the Southeastern Conference Western Division. If the Tigers win, they're a lock to face Florida in the SEC Championship Game. If Alabama wins, the Crimson Tide still must beat Auburn to gain the right to face the Gators in Atlanta.

- Texas at Texas Tech. The Longhorns are the only team between Texas Tech and the inaugural Big 12 Championship game. If Texas wins, the Big 12 South Division is up for grabs - again.

- Northwestern at Iowa. Implications run from the alliance to Orlando. A victory by Iowa might knock Northwestern into the Outback Bowl and make the Citrus Bowl take Michigan, Penn State or Iowa.

- Clemson at Virginia. Atlantic Coast Conference shuffling for the Peach and Carquest bowls. Virginia has hopes that North Carolina can be plucked by an alliance bowl and thereby get to the Gator Bowl, but the Cavs likely are destined for the Peach Bowl. Clemson's bowl hopes are narrowing.

- Kansas State at Kansas. This one helps shape the pecking order in the Big 12. K-State prefers the Cotton and the Holiday over the Alamo and Aloha, but a loss to the Jayhawks probably eliminates Dallas and San Diego from K-State's travel plans. Kansas must win to keep any postseason chances alive.

- East Carolina at Virginia Tech. The Liberty, Gator and Carquest bowls all have eyes on the Hokies, who probably have fallen too far back in the Big East to reach the alliance. East Carolina is fighting for its bowl life and probably can reach the Liberty only by winning - and seeing Southern Mississippi lose.